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View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoFred Squillante | DISPATCH PHOTOSTenth-grade students from Ohio’s nine largest cities gather on the steps of the Ohio Union for photos before the start of the 25th-anniversary luncheon of the Young Scholars Program at Ohio State University.

Actor and humanitarian Danny Glover told 90 10th-graders being inducted into Ohio State
University’s Young Scholars Program yesterday that he could see their potential just by the looks
on their eager faces.

He could read their hunger to use education as the great equalizer, despite the roadblocks in
their way. He understood their need to use the opportunities they gain as young scholars to
transform their lives, their schools and their communities.

And he wanted to fuel their desire to learn from those who came before them and to leave a
legacy for those to come.

“Each generation makes his own history,” Glover told the hushed crowd in the Performance Hall of
the Ohio Union during a luncheon to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Young Scholars
Program.

The students had heard earlier from Colin Powell, former general and U.S. secretary of state,
who talked about the merits of leadership and said he had met many Young Scholars alumni.

Glover, 66, talked about his own experiences as a college student at San Francisco State
University more than 45 years ago. He said winning World War II and the creation of the Higher
Education Act, which increased federal money for universities, created scholarships and provided
low-interest loans for students, changed the country and, subsequently, his life for the
better.

Glover praised Ohio State for creating the Young Scholars Program “to correct what has been
historically unjust” — the underrepresentation of academically talented, first-generation students
from economically challenged families at colleges nationwide.

“It is obvious to me that (the program) addresses the needs of young people who in many cases
would have fallen through the cracks. In many ways, this program has saved them,” he said.

Since its inception in 1987, the Young Scholars Program has prepared nearly 3,000 youths for
college success. Scholars from Ohio’s nine major cities, including Columbus, Cleveland and
Cincinnati, are indentified in the sixth grade.

Over the next six years, they participate in academic, personal-development and
career-exploration activities. That includes a two-week summer academy before their senior year
during which they take classes and live on OSU’s Columbus campus, while also meeting with business
professionals from the community.

They also receive support throughout their college careers. Most attend Ohio State, where they
are guaranteed admission and also financial support as long as they keep up their grades.

“Unfortunately, many of our students come from areas of the community that are dangerous to live
in,” said Curtis Austin, who leads the program. Young Scholars gives them something to work toward,
he said.

The program accounts for more than one-fourth of all African-American students admitted to Ohio
State from the nine urban school districts and a quarter of Latino students, said Valerie Lee, OSU’s
vice provost for diversity and inclusion.

Heather Cook, 16, of Clintonville, said the program has allowed her to meet people just like her
who work hard, want to get good grades and hope to make a difference in the world.

Amer Hassan, 15, of Toledo, agreed. “It’s opened up tons of potential in my life,” he said. “It’s
opened my mind to different things and offered me a better future.”